Tag Archives: middle grade

Camo Girl

Posted on August 1, 2019 by AnEducationInBooks

Kekla Magoon‘s middle grade novel Camo Girl is unexpected in all the best ways. Ella, the narrator, is friends with Z, the strangest boy in the whole grade. Both of them are ostracized, and they cope by creating an imaginary … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's novels, Michigan author/illustrator, social issues, strong characters, Voice | Tagged bullying, family, middle grade, school | Leave a comment

Orphan Island

Posted on October 18, 2018 by AnEducationInBooks

Jinny is one of nine kids on Orphan Island where each year, the oldest leaves the island when a green boat magically appears with a new child to take his or her place. The nine children on the island are … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's novels | Tagged middle grade | Leave a comment

Forever, or a Long, Long Time

Posted on July 10, 2018 by AnEducationInBooks

Flora and her brother, Julian, live with Person and Dad, their forever family after being in several foster placements that are hazy in their memory. Person is the name Flora secretly calls her adoptive forever mom, because she’s had too … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's novels, social issues, strong characters, Voice | Tagged adoption, family, foster system, middle grade, siblings | Leave a comment

Waiting for Normal

Posted on May 7, 2018 by AnEducationInBooks

When Addie and Mommers move into a lonely trailer across from a parking lot filled with potholes and a minimart gas station, Mommers is less than thrilled, but Addie makes the best of it. In fact, Addie does almost everything, … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's novels, strong characters, Voice | Tagged family, middle grade, school | Leave a comment

The War That Saved My Life

Posted on November 11, 2016 by AnEducationInBooks

Everything about this historical middle grade works, beginning with the title. Such an intriguing title it is, and the theme of how a war can save someone weaves delicately and truly through the novel. Never bogged down in historical detail, … Continue reading →

Posted in Voice | Tagged England, family, middle grade, WWII | 2 Comments

Sachiko, A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor’s Story

Posted on November 10, 2016 by AnEducationInBooks

When Sachiko was six years old, an atomic bomb exploded over Nagasaki, killing Sachiko’s little brother and most of her playmates. While her family traveled to a relatively safer place, her brothers suffered and died from the effects of radiation. Radiation … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Nonfiction | Tagged biography, family, Japan, middle grade | Leave a comment

The Nest

Posted on March 28, 2016 by AnEducationInBooks

The Nest is a haunting and surreal book about a boy named Steve whose newborn brother is born with a host of medical problems that require surgeries and hospitalizations. Through Steve’s dreams and his conversations with the knife man, we see … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian author/illustrator, Children's novels, strong characters | Tagged children's books, family, high interest, middle grade | Leave a comment

Full Cicada Moon

Posted on March 5, 2016 by AnEducationInBooks

Set in 1969, Marilyn Hilton‘s Full Cicada Moon is Mimi’s story of moving to Vermont, where finding acceptance is difficult because her mother is Japanese and her father is black. What’s more, Mimi wants to be an astronaut and is interested in woodworking, rather … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's novels, historical | Tagged history, middle grade, novel-in-verse | 1 Comment

Lost in the Sun

Posted on August 16, 2015 by AnEducationInBooks

Trent is navigating his life of middle school, friendship and perceptions, and in the middle of it all, makes friends with a girl who has a different story every time about the origins of the scar on her face. Mostly, … Continue reading →